Military Embedded Systems

ST. LOUIS. Emerson officials announced that the company has closed its acquisition of automated, military and commercial test and measurement system provider NI, at an equity value of $8.2 billion. NI will now become a segment within Emerson called Test & Measurement and will be consolidated into the Emerson Software and Control group. The Test & Measurement business will still be headquartered in Austin, Texas. NI reported $1.66 billion in 2022 revenue.

MELBOURNE, Fla., Oct. 9, 2023 — L3Harris Technologies Leidos, and MAG Aerospace joined hands for the U.S. Army’s High Accuracy Detection and Exploitation System (HADES) program. The companies plan to deploy a fleet of aerial intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) aircraft to gather relevant and reliable operational intelligence.

WHITE SANDS, New Mexico. Raytheon’ Lower Tier Air and Missile Defense Sensor, met technical and performance milestones while completing Contractor Verification Testing at the U.S. Army's White Sands Missile Range. Testing demonstrated how effective the radar's design and performance would be against real and simulated threats.

LONDON. It's been four years since I was last here, having missed the first event post-COVID in 2021, but I found this year’s DSEI the best one I’ve attended in terms of activity among embedded electronics suppliers, success in terms of our daily newsletter from the show, and the most smooth experience I’ve ever had in terms of getting to and from the show each day.

LONDON. Orbit Communications Systems announced its Multi-Purpose Terminals (MPT) for SATCOM communication for unmanned surface vehicles and small vessels at DSEI 2023, this week in London.

LONDON. Demand for secure encryption on data links, reduced size, weight, and power SWaP) requirements, open architecture modularity, flavor inquiries on defense technology at DSEI 2023.

LONDON. BAE Systems selected Collins Aerospace to provide the Large Area Display technology for cockpits of future Eurofighter Typhoon aircraft. BAE Systems engineers will use the ultra-high-definition Large Area Display (LAD) as part of its rapid capability development program, Project Medulla, which sees it investing in future technologies for use across its combat air portfolio, including Eurofighter Typhoon.

LONDON. Many questions on open architecture initiatives and the Department of Defense (DoD) modular open systems approach (MOSA) mandate were being floated to U.S. embedded hardware and software suppliers at DSEI in London this week. So, over dinner last night, I asked Chip Downing, Outreach Committee Co-chair of the Future Airborne Capability Environment (FACE) Consortium and Senior Market Development Director for Aerospace and Defense at RTI, what type of open architecture strategies are being pursued by European defense departments and if the U.S initiatives like FACE influenced those efforts.

LONDON. Sensor Open Systems Architecture (SOSA) Consortium members exhibiting at DSEI 2023 tell me there is considerable interest in the SOSA Technical Standard and in the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) modular open systems approach (MOSA) even if there is not an official MOSA mandate like the one from the DoD.

LONDON. BAE Systems won a contract from the United Kingdom Ministry of Defence (MOD) to develop its Striker II Helmet Mounted Display (HMD) for the Royal Air Force (RAF) Typhoon fleet.

I spent my first day touring the USA pavilion at DSEI 2023 in London. It’s my first time back to this massive show in four years; I saw many familiar faces and technologies from U.S. defense electronic suppliers, from connectors and signal-processing solutions to avionics boxes and rugged servers. Many companies are also showcasing and demonstrating their open-architecture designs.

LONDON. Leaders of defense organizations in Italy, Japan, and the United Kingdom signed a trilateral Collaboration Agreement to deliver the concept phase requirements of a next generation combat aircraft for the Global Combat Air Program (GCAP).

LONDON. Ultra Intelligence & Communications (Ultra I&C) was named a supplier for the United Kingdom’s Crown Commercial Service’s Network Services 3 (NS3) Framework (RM6116) for Lot 1c – Tactical Radio Systems.

So much of our contributed content – and even our staff-written features – over the past few years have been focused on open architecture initiatives and modular open systems approach (MOSA) initiatives like the Sensor Open Sensor Systems Architecture (SOSA) Technical Standard. We even produce an annual full-sized magazine on SOSA, as well as an issue covering the Future Airborne Capability Environment (FACE). But for the last decade our coverage has often been dominated by the twin topics of obsolescence and supply chain, both of which we cover in this issue.

Designers of test and measurement systems for military applications such as radar and electronic warfare (EW) are stepping up to use artificial intelligence (AI) solutions to enable better testing of cognitive functionality. Meanwhile, modern digital architecture adoption is driving military test requirements.

QUIMPER, France. -- Interface Concept introduced the ComEth4682e, a 3U OpenVPX Ethernet switch which is 25/100Gb Ethernet capable and aligned with the Sensor Open Systems Architecture (SOSA) Technical Standard. This switch has been developed for high-computing applications, including radar, sensor, electronic warfare, and network processing.

Modular open system approach (MOSA) strategies such as the Future Airborne Capability Environment (FACE) Technical Standard are changing how the Department of Defense acquires technology. In this podcast with Tim Reed, Chief Executive Officer for Lynx Software Technologies, he and I discuss how MOSA benefits the warfighter and what it means to be certified conformant other the FACE Technical Standard.

SOF WEEK 2023 - TAMPA, Fla. Ryan McLean, Director of the Tactical Assault Kit (TAK) Product Center, U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) details the strategy for TAK 2030 with the SOF Week Show Daily team during SOF Week 2023.

SOF WEEK 2023 - TAMPA, Fla. Col. Rhea Pritchett, Program Executive Officer, PEO SOF Digital Applications (SDA), U.S. Special Operations Command (USSOCOM) in an interview with the SOF Week Show Daily team discusses her requirements and how she looks to connect with industry, academia, and other government agencies to solve digital gaps.  

SOF WEEK 2023 – TAMPA, Fla. SIG SAUER acquired General Robotics, a manufacturer of lightweight remote weapon stations and tactical robotics for manned and unmanned platforms and anti-drone applications.